Sire
by Triphordy
Summary: Fifteen year old prince Steven is diagnosed with an unknown ailment, he is presumed dead and to avert devastating punishment he is married to fourteen year old Connie, to take his place as heir. Steven survives thanks to a heavy sacrifice and now the youngest couples in town have to learn what it means to be a couple. Set in magical universe.
1. Chapter 1

**My first new story of the year. It's an idea that took about three weeks to perfect. Enjoy.**

 **I do not own Steven universe neither do I make any profit from this.**

"Hear hear, our fair Lord and Master, his Highness king Gregory of Beachtopia has, once again a message to all alchemists and healers of the land. If you can heal his son, our fair prince or at least find the illness that plagues him so, you will not just be rewarded handsomely but your name would be known by generations to come. This is the word of our Lord and protector"

The town crier turned and walked importantly back to the castle signaling that the previously quiet square now had permission to be noisy again.

Kiki, daughter of exceptional Baker, Kofi sighed and continued her journey to her home/bakery, they had a huge order and all hands needed to be on deck. She passed the house of Paddington and stopped to look over the fence. The wide courtyard held only dry leaves, dying trees and a lot of molehills. The large mansion looked like a picture from Kiki's Halloween nightmares.

A little noice startled her, she jumped and stood at alert. A squirrel jumped out holding a nut. Kiki felt kind of silly getting scared because of a squirrel with nut...Wait, nut!. She was supposed to be be cracking nuts for the huge order.

She dashed away from the house hence she didn't notice a shutter close.

•••

Queen rose stood at a window in her chamber, watching the servants carry bags of flour and sugar to a cart whose destination was the Kofi residence.

Her eyes wandered over her kingdom and she saw how the once bustling and beautiful Lands had transformed over a period of six month. It wasn't a surprise to be honest, Steven was like the heart of the kingdom, what he felt, the people felt.

The locked shops, almost empty roads and deserted port proved her theory. She turned back to the servants, she hoped Kofi could handle the order i mean, her people could feel sad and sober for her son but she would never let them go hungry because of him.

Her eyes wandered once more and she saw the daffodil Greg gave her, or at least, what was left of it. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling a familiar warmth emit from her chest, She mentally channelled it to the tips of her finger then she opened her eyes to watch the flower bloom back to health.

"I never get tired of watching you do that."

Rose recognized the voice "well I have, since I found out it...co...co...uldn't... he...lp.. our so..." She broke down in tears.

"Whoa whoa whoa" Greg ran to her side " we've talked about this rose, the only reason why Steven is alive is because of your amazing gift"

"But I want to do more" she said in between sobs.

He drew her close "it's okay , you've already done your best rose and it's more than enough. As long as Steven is still breathing, we still have hope.

Three knocks from the door intruded the affectionate moment. "Come in"

The door opened and in walked lapis, head of palace staff and Rose's most trusted confidant (besides Greg and one other person) "good morning your majest...ies, The council is in the throne room, they require a meeting of utmost importance."

"You don't say, I'll be with them shortly." Lapis courtesied and left the room.

"I guess it's time"

"I hope not, I'll try my best to prolong thier decision"

"Okay, good luck" rose waved as Greg went out.

###

"All hail his majest king Gregory, Lord and protector of Beachtopia.!"

The council sat down (after Greg of course) Then redwood smiley, council speaker(assist) and owner of Beachtopia largest playground stood up.

"Your majesty, I believe You know why we are here"

"Yes I do and this is my answer, my son would live and not die, there is no need to jump into lifetime decisions"

"Your majesty the council members agree with you, but a farmer doesn't just hope rain would fall, he builds canals to make sure his plants are watered in case they don't. Your majesty no one knows tomorrow, we should make the right choices while we still have today."

"I've said it before and I'm saying it again, my son will live"

"What if he doesn't!" The council gasped

Greg frowned "have you condemed my son to death?"

"I haven't your majesty, but mother nature may have" the council was beginning to frown upon it's speaker

Greg closed his eyes and exhaled slowly "go home smiley, you can't change my decision, go home before you vex me"

"Well I..." Council speaker dewey got up "I'll take it from here Mr smiley"

"But.." he saw the look on everyone's face so he took his seat, slowly.

"Your highness, the third law of our great land states that if every council member agree on something, the council will out rank the king"

Greg opened his eyes "really, so you want to betray me"

"No my Lord, I simply want to do everything in my power to help you"

Greg turned to the other members "do you all agree to this?" Everyone nodded "fine, I am not above the law, what is your decision"

Dewey heaved a sigh of relief "thank you your majesty."

"And now to begin this meeting officially, A hundred and seventy years ago, our fair kingdom was neck deep in a terrible war, we lost many men, women and children until king Richard the deliverer sought help from divine beings, the helped us and left us a with a single rule. Every king obeyed this rule and our kingdom thrived and bloomed. Everyone in this room know what that rule is."

"No heir must die without a mate" the council said in usion.

"Precisely but alas, an unknown ailment threatenes to plunge us back into our former devastating position. But we refuse and therefore have come up with decision. we will wed the prince as soon as possible."

The room was quiet at the decision took effect.

"Seriously. That's the best everyone of you could come up with?!"

"Yes sire"

"And you're sure there is no other less complicated way to approach this problem"

"Sire the council is sure that there are simpler ways than this, heck it might not even be the best approach. But one thing we are sure of, is that this would bring the best result."

"You really think so huh?"

"Undoubtedly your majesty."

"Very well. If that is your decision, I suppose you've sent message to princess..."

"No your majesty"

"I thought you people were in a hurry"

"Steven can't marry Her"

"Why?"

"Your majesty , Romando is two weeks away from us, we need to do this as soon as possible"

"The princess is Stevens betroth, if you do this, the war you're trying hard to avoid will most definitely meet up with you."

"Your majesty, we've sent a message with a level seven royal emergency seal."

"And you think the king would let a lifetime agreement go because of a simple letter"

"Don't worry your majesty, I laid down full details of Stevens current predicament he would think Steven is going to die and therefore withraw his daughter"

Greg shook his head "you people should not involve me when this backfires, it was your decision."

"Very well your majesty"

"So who would be the bride?"

"Miss Connie Maheswaran"

"And why did you choose her?"

"She is an intelligent girl and one of a kind among her pears. She would be able to run the kingdom if your son is err...Absent."

"Okay, when is the wedding"

"Three days, the Maheswaran's Have been notified two months ago."

"So you were already ready with your plan before you even bothered to ask me"

"Pardon us your majesty but time was of the essence"

"Very well, I will inform the queen and we would be ready for you. I believe that is all"

"No sire"

"What else?"

"The prisoner Jasper, general of our enemies, the kingdom crystalon tried to escape"

"Again!"

"Yes your majesty.

Greg sighed crystalon, Nicknamed homeworld (because of its plan to overthrow neighboring kingdoms and become thier capital.) Was a formidable kingdom indeed, the only reason Beachtopia was able to match them in strength was because of the help of the Divine beings or as Greg liked to classify it, "dumb luck"

Their warriors were trained to thirst for blood, hunger for death and abstain from peace. But Jasper was different, it's like she was forged for destruction, a prodigy in Warcraft she rose fast through the ranks. The only reason why they kept her alive was to get information on how to defeat home world. "What do we do"

Yellow tail, a council member spoke up. "We could finally make her bid this world adieu."

"No, we still need her"

"For what sire, she injured two ARMOUR clad guards with BARE HANDS."

"Why don't we just upgrade her prison"

The room went silent, then Greg spoke up

"Are you by any chance insinuating 'the house of azreal'?"

"Yes" smiley answered

"Isn't that a tad inhumane"

"Sire with the amount of blood on that woman's hand, I don't think she can still be classified as human."

Greg turned to dewey "what say you?"

"Sire to be honest I think that is our best option. We want her alive and so far no other prison has been able to hold her."

"So it is settled, Jasper shall be transfered to the "house of Azrael". Any other business?"

"No sire."

"Very well then, I take my leave"

"Long live the king!"

Greg opened the door to his wife room "you wouldn't believe what just happ..."

Rose was staring at a letter with a royal seal, looking shocked.

?

The castle grounds was so large, it had lots of uses. Stables, storehouses , name it. But the most popular was the sparing grounds, where the greatest knights clashed and the most clever squire reigned supreme (among their peers of course)

Amethyst green, squire and prospective knight stood at alert, even though she was battling half hearted. Her opponent thrusted, amethyst tried to parry but she got a face full of sheild.

"Amethyst!" The girl got up and rubbed her chin, squire Captain bismuth was mad now. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"I'm sorry Captain I..."

"You nothing!. That was the worst move I have ever seen."

"It was..."

"You only talk when asked to"

"Yes ma'am"

"Good. You're madam garnets squire and a future knight of our fair kingdom, you should be perfect in the act of spari..."

Amethyst eyes wandered to a particular window in the castle and her mind pondered. _'i wonder how he's doing, don't die Steven, I beg you. Oh how i miss him, if he was here I would gladly win this battle, knowing fully well that after this Steven would have excellent pastries from the palace kitchen and we would have fun all day in the house of Paddington playing with the inventions of...'_

"Squire!"

"Yes ma'am"

"Your mind seems to be wandering"

"No ma'am, it isn't."

"Really?, Well then, what's my last word"

"Umm...I...Uh... _*gulp*_ word?"

"Latrine duty!"

•••

Amethyst closed the final stall, it had taken all day but she was done, every toilet was spick and span.

She decide to take a walk, go where her legs took her. The kingdom was beautiful in the light of the setting sun, she passed by silent houses and unopened shops. A few toddlers chased a chicken and she couldn't help but smile, admiring their innocence and care free attitude.

A few people called out to her and she waved back, a butcher threw her a drum stick and she caught it effortlessly. It was all nice and cool but it wasn't the same without Steven. She really missed him.

She was so deep in thought that she nearly bumped into kiki. "Whoa,"

"Hey, wait, amethest!"

"Oh high kiki, watcha up to?"

"Oh just passing out food ordered by queen rose, she really worked us up, I'm beat."

Amethyst smiled "like you didn't get paid"

"Okay, okay, I have no right to complain."

"Exactly"

"Oh I forgot, I didn't see you home so I dropped your pastry basket through the window."

"Wait, I left my window open"

"Yeah but I closed it, no one will notice."

"Thanks"

"You're welcome, I have to go, see you next time."

Amethest waved then continued her journey. She walked for a while before she noticed a familiar fence "better check on her" she scaled the fence and tore through a few overgrowth before coming face to face with the house of Paddington.

Earlier

"Rose, what is it?"

"Pearls alive"

"What?"

Rose gave him the letter and he sat down to completely scan it's content.

Greg sighed "she's alive alright, but she's a prisoner"

"But at least, she's alive. Oh Greg she could help Steven, she could save our son."

Greg sighed"I'm guessing you didn't finish this letter."

"Why do you ask"

"Homeworld is willing to release pearl only if we release one of theirs."

"We don't have any homeworld prisoner, I mean...Wait a minute. Oh my God!"

"Exactly, they want Jasper."

 **That's it for now, I don't know a lot about medieval government, people and lifestyle. I wrote this story solely on research, so if I might have made mistakes here and there, I am sorry. Don't forget to review or PM me about what you think.**

 **Peace.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this took long, I guess I'm not as free as I thought in fact, I'm so occupied that I wonder if I'm truly on holiday. Anyway, here's chapter two. I don't own Steven universe.**

It was more of a marriage than a wedding, the people were briefed and at midnight three days after the meeting with the king, they all gathered in the palace ball room. For what could be classified as the saddest cojoining in the history of Beachtopia .

Connie stood anxiously outside the east door, it was one of the doors that joined the palace to the enormous ballroom. She felt a cool arm on her shoulder, she turned and came face to face with her best friend and adopted sister, sappire.

"Nervous I see"

"Yes dear sister, I do not know what to do when I get in there"

"Neither do I, all I can say is be yourself. That has helped you a lot"

They heard footsteps and soon Connie's parents were looking down at the two girls. Pyranka bent to her daughter's height.

"I assume you are happy that you would get your wish, soon you would be in a position that would give you the power you need to make everything right."

"Yes mother, but still I wish my accension to power wasn't under such sad conditions. Sometime I feel like my agreeing to this task was selfish of me"

Doug bent too "a lot of other girls would have eloped if they were put in the same spot as you, what you are doing is an act of benefaction and bravery."

Connie smiled "thank you mother and father. If only we could be together, having you so far away wouldn't be pleasing."

Doug and pyranka smiled. "We had a word with council leader Dewey and he affirmed that only one person could stay with you. I think you know who we chose."

Connie turned to face sappire, the child had a big smile on her face. She opened her mouth to talk when the bells bellowed.

"It's time kid, go make history"

Jasper heard the bells and smiled "times up". She gagged and regurgitated a hair pin. Pulling her self up to the shackles that suspended her from the ceiling. Garnet sure was dumb to get too close when she was making sure the shackles were fastened well, the hair pin had been removed smoothly and without notice.

In less than three minutes, Jasper was running up the dungeon steps, unlocking doors with the with the pin faster and smoother than a Master Locksmith could. A guard saw her and charged her with his spear. She caught it, pulled him in then her elbow brought him down. She went through other guards similarly, with little effort.

Soon she could see the final exit. With every step she took, the smell of freedom grew stronger. She started to smile until something stopped her in her tracks, standing in front of the door and blocking her path to freedom was the commanding Knight, garnet.

Jasper charged her but the experienced warrior simply sidesteped and tripped her. Before the home world soldier could stand up again, garnet blew an orange sweet smelling powder in her face. The warrior coughed twice before collapsing, fast asleep.

Garnet wistled and two soldiers came to pick Jasper up. Then she picked up Jasper's weapon and neatly cut the door off it's hinges.

Garnet threw the weapon and a soldier caught, he nodded before taking off on foot, then she made her way into a secluded part of the wood behind the dungeon walls.

A few soldiers were loading Jasper into a carriage while others hooked up the horses.

"Hurry up, we do not have much time, the powder is meant to wear off in an hour but when it comes to Jasper, we should know better ."

The soldier double timed and soon, they were in the middle of the woods. Garnet nodded and two soldiers picked up their bow and arrows then made their way up two redwoods. The others carried Jasper and made their way to the meeting point.

They waited for a period of thirty minutes before garnet heard a twig snap. "it is not nice to keep a lady waiting"

Seven soldiers appeared on strong stallions. They wore similar armour, with claymores strapped behind them but the one in the middle had a cape on and a dagger on his belt. Garnet guessed he was the one in charge.

"it amuses me to see that with the kind of balls you posses, you still think yourself a woman." His voice was surprisingly high, like that of a performer.

"Who are you?"

He chuckled "though it is hurtful that my name is unknown to you, I am very pleased that you know why I am here."

She frowned and peered behind Him "I see that you that you came through sarkodis."

"Precisely, the queendom is surprisingly neutral, I'm astonished that you haven't changed that, they could really give you a fighting edge."

"You don't say"

He smartened up "I would love to stay and chat but alas, we have but little time. Where is Jasper?"

"Pearl first"

He raised an eyebrow "suspicious ehn, think we wouldn't hold up our end of the exchange?. Not to worry, crysalis never desecrate her word."

"Where is she?"

He grinned "bring her" the soldier at the extreme pulled a rope and pearl stumbled forward, he cut her rope loose and pushed her towards them "now Jasper"

The soldiers brought Jasper out, just in time. As soon as they put her down, her eyes jerked open then she roared as she stood up, ready for battle.

Garnet grinned "I see that you slept for an hour, I guess you are human after all"

Jasper got ready to charge her when "general" she turned

"You"

"Surprised?"

"what is going on?, Why aren't their heads at our foot?"

"Sadly, this is a peaceful meeting, an exchange if you would"

Jasper turned to garnet "so once again, you prolong your inevitable end"

The Knight shrugged " I'm just too lucky"

"Oh, do not worry Commander. I will end it soon. Remember this garnet, the next time we meet I would not let you slip away. Even if you run into that castle, I break open the walls of stone and tear apart the gates of brass. I will rain terror upon you and I will not stop until you, everyone and everything you love is wiped off the face of this world."

"Sounds promising" jasper growled then she smiled "lets go home boys, I miss mother's cooking" they turned and soon they disappeared.

Garnet turned to look at the young alchemist "how are you?"

She swallowed "a little shaken actually, never mind that. We need to get back now. I have to start my work as soon as possible"

"You can't come back with us"

"What?, Why!"

"This exchange wasn't supposed to be carried out"

"So you are going against your kingdom"

"yes and no. Look, the sun is coming up. You need to go up north, you will see one of mine, he will tell you what to do"

"Okay, wait"

"Yes?"

"here" she gave her a piece of parchment. "Help me prepare my work station and get all the ingredients on the parchment. You can also start the process, the instructions are there. Step one and two would take too much time, that is why I need you to start it as soon as possible."

"Is that all?"

"um, well…I haven't eaten in a while"

Garnet smiled and a soldier brought her a plate of porridge.

...

Amethyst jumped out a window and fell twenty feet before landing on a pile of dried leaves, a arrow sticking out her breastplate. She pulled it out and heaved a sigh of relief when she found out that it was only a flesh wound. She got up and groaned, her ankle hurt.

She growled and screamed at the top of her voice "coward!. You have no shame, when everything was bright and shiny you came out prancing about with him, claiming to be his friend!, But now that everything's turned dark and gloomy, you slink away, hiding like the shadow you are!."

She picked up a stone and chucked it hard through the window she came out of then she sniffed, her eyes moistened and she turned to go home when she heard the palace bell ring once, twice, trice, four times then one last hard gong "oh no, she looked up at the palace "jasper has escaped."

 **That's it for now, hoped you enjoyed it. I really hope to update soon but who knows.**

 **Peace**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me again, I guess I'm into the story more than I am of my other stories. For now.**

She walked up to a familiar oak, cleared the base and went down a chute at the root. She let the water run over her feet before she continued her journey. Garnet walked two miles then she climbed up the side of the underground cave, in less than an hour she was in her office.

She cleaned her shoes and shoulder plates then she made her way to the door. She opened it and saw two snoozing soldiers.

"Men!" They jerked up and tried to make out thier surrounding.

"Commander?, I didn't see you come in"

"Really?, I wonder how that happened"

He scratched his neck and bowed his head "sorry ma'am, it wouldn't happen again."

"I hope not. Is the house of azreal ready?"

"Yes ma'am, we spent all night checking and double checking every nook and cranny of the…chamber" he finished with an involuntary shudder.

"And?"

"everything is in working order"

"good. Take as many men as you can and transport the prisoner immediately. I don't want the palace bustling when you do it."

"Yes ma'am." The went down the hall and disappeared.

Garnet closed the door and sighed. She couldn't help but let her mind wander to the scene that led to this situation.

•••

Greg pulled himself up and plopped down breathing heavily, He started to slip. He jerked up and stabled himself.

"exercise should be one of your top priority Greg"

He turned to the voice. "I still don't know what gives you the nerve to call me by my name. "the fact that it was my father who knighted you or because you were knighted at the age of thirteen."

"Maybe it's both."she turned to him grinning

He snorted "what do you even do up here?" he said as he peered cautiously at the hundred and fifty foot drop.

"That" she said pointing.

He turned to where she was pointing and raised an eyebrow "rats?"

"Not exactly, they are a rare kind of rodent. In fact,so rare they don't even have an official name. I call them mother knows best"

"Why?"

" a mother can give birth to fifteen pups at once but they leave her tired and weak for days. So in order to prevent starvation and the Extinction of her species, she kills the pups with the lowest percentage of survival so that they can serve as food for her and the others"

Greg raised an eyebrow "nasty little things"

"She does what she has to do to ensure their survival."

They sat on roof and watched the rodents. occasionally, Greg would slap his ear whenever a gnat decide to sing him a lullaby.

"Rose and I got a letter. Delivered by a carnadin falcon."

"sounds important"

"It was from homeworld" she sat up but didn't say anything so he continued "they wanted us to know that pearl is alive and that they will release her only if we release Jasper."

"where are you going with this?"

"Garnet, pearl could save Steven. She could return this kingdom back to her former glory. We could have our lives back, happiness could once again rule the land. All for a little price"

"Greg what are you trying to tell me to do?"

"Garnet, I am not telling you to do anything, I am simply asking what you will do. The kingdom of Beachtopia has three ruling house and the Maheswarans are not one of them. What do you think will happen to that girl if Steven, rose and I were to depart. Do you think Beachtopia would remain a single kingdom?"

She turned to look at him "greg, I…"

"Look Garnet, when you made your Knight's oath, it was not to the crown, not to the council, not to the people but to the kingdom. You swore to keep it safe no matter what, to make sure it doesn't go under. Rember this garnet, before you determine what's best in this situation."

For the first time in a long time, Garnet didn't know what to say. she turned back to the rodents "mother knows best"

•••

The door burst open and the two soldiers rushed in "comander, it's Jasper, she's escaped"

"what!, How?!"

"We don't know, the door of the main entrance was cut off it's hinges and every guard stationed on the path from the door to her cell has been knocked out."

The second soldier took over "the only place she could have gone to is the woods leading to the queendom, sarkodis."

"Good." Garnet thought for a while "Use the bells to signal every soldier, the citizens won't understand, the last thing we want is to see them panicking. Use our strongest griffen and Pegasus, we should cover more ground with them. Search every edge of that wood, we need to find her."

"Yes ma'am."

"They bolted." Garnet closed the door and sighed, she just sent her men on a wild goose chase.

•••

Connie closed the door gently, as if a loud bang would wake him up. Then she walked towards him, taking in the–uniqueness of the room. She admired the paintings on the wall, she picked up some of the wood sculptures to examine them closely. She marveled at the map on the ceiling. It showed the exact layout of Beachtopia and the many kingdoms around it.

She looked down and noticed a suit of armor, it had the kingdoms crest on the breast plate. She walked towards it and felt the metal. made of pure gold, cold to the touch and from the look of things, polished frequently. The sword was made of steel but the hilt was gold, it had three emeralds and one pink diamond. She noticed an engraving on it and read to herself.

"Steven the merciful?"

Sometime moved in her peripheral vision and she turned so fast she almost got whiplash. She relaxed when she found out that it was only the curtain, then she saw him.

"wow" Connie was a girl who desired more than anything to help the needy. Her passion had taken her to a lot of villages and she could boldly say she knew how an Ill person looked, the boy on the bed did not bear any resemblance to what she had in mind.

He was tucked in so well it looked like he was asleep. His chest heaved at a slow but perfect rhythm, his lips were slightly parted and his arms lay on his stomach. She moved close to him and smiled, she had seen him many times before but never this close. A lot of rumors were told about him and now that she stood at his side, she knew that at least one of them was true, he was handsome.

She put an arm on his hand and kissed his forehead "get well soon…husband."

 _Two weeks later._

Rose moved the curtain and saw her people at the side of the road, smiling and waving. She smiled and waved back. Ever since the soldiers went to look for Jasper and came back with pearl, the kingdom has had regained hope.

The alchemist had done a lot of amazing things before her capture but now that she was back , the people believed she could save their prince. They walked around with exuberance, storing food and making decorations that they would use to celebrate the return of Steven.

She lay back and sighed, if only she could say the same for herself. Keeping up her job of keeping Steven alive was getting harder and harder, it made her weaker than usual and though she would hide it, whenever she transferred some of her energy to the boy, her chest started to hurt.

She just hoped pearl came up with something and soon, she said she was the key to saving Steven but rose still did not understand what that meant. All she knew was that whatever was required to save her son, she would gladly do. She didn't even want to imagine what would happen to the people if they lost their prince, if she lost her son. She would rather die than let that happen.

The carriage stopped and rose looked out. Was she deep in thought for that long?.

The walk to her chamber was gloomy, her mood didn't go unnoticed by the palace workers who whispered among themselves. She opened her door and

"Rose"

She jerked her head up to see the caller

"Just the person I wanted to see" Greg said as he walked towards her "pearl is ready, Steven has been taken to her office, they are downstairs waiting for us."

She brought her hands to her chest "then what are we waiting for, pearls station awaits." She took his arm and ran faster than anyone imagined and soon they were at the door.

Rose knocked and pearl opened.

"Oh, your majesties. Welcome" they entered

"so pearl" rose went straight to business "you said you have a cure for Steven"

"well…, it's not exactly a cure"

"What!" Greg snapped "are you telling us that your bringing us down here is for naught!"

"no sire, what I'm saying is that my work isn't a cure all by itself. It needs her majesty's gift"

"What do you mean?"

"The concoction I made will boost her majesty power tenfold so that when she takes it and uses her power on steven, she will not just replenish his energy, she will actually cure him."

Greg's eyes widened "are you serious?"

"yes sire"

"we would get our son back"

" undoubtedly sire"

Greg turned to his wife "what say you my queen"

Rose stared at him, her lips quivering. The she looked at pearl then back at him "I say we do it now, I cannot let my son suffer another second"

Pearl nodded "very well madam." She opened a drawer and took out a vile which she in turn passed to rose.

The queen collected it and looked at Greg, the monarch smiled at her. She sighed and opened it, a pink wisp of smoke drifted up her nostrils. The scent reminded her of strawberries, freshly baked bread and cinnamon. Then she felt woozy and lost her balance.

With lightning speed acquired perhaps from his sparring days, Greg caught her and the bottle before either was able to hit the floor. "Rose?, Rose. Talk to me rose"

She groaned "I'm okay, just a little light-headed"

"Oh" he took her to a chair

"Um sire, can I see you for a moment"

"Any problem?"

"Not at all"

They went outside "sire, her majesty has been helping Steven for six and a half months, correct?"

He hesitated

"Sire?"

"Well…not exactly"

"what do you mean?"

"its been eight months now"

"Eight months…but that shouldn't cause it" she murmured to herself

"What?"

"Has her majesty helped anyone beside Steven?"

"Of course, you don't expect to be Ill or injured and walk right pass rose, she even helps the animals"

"All that combined with steven's illness has put too much strain on her"

"What are you getting at?"

"Sire Rose reaction to the vials scent was a side effect I hoped not to see"

"why?"

"Because it signifies that she is weak, her mana has been depleted"

"so she cannot heal Steven?"

"She can your majesty but if she takes this vile and tries, she will not be giving the prince energy, she would be transferring her entire life force to him. She would die"

He looked at her, shocked. "ho…how sure are you?"

"very your majesty, very sure"

He ran his hand through his hair "oh God. How long will it take her to get her mana back"

"Well from the look of things" she thought for a while "roughly a few weeks, that is if she doesn't use her power at all"

"Steven wouldn't survive that long, don't you have have some kind of…voodoo to help her get it fast"

"I don't, and it alche…"

"I DON'T CARE!"

She shrunk back

He paced around frustrated "what do we do now?"

"I…I don't know your majesty"

"You don't know?"

She nodded fearfully expecting Greg to hit her. The king turned and banged his forehead on the wall "everytime I get close, I just…arghh!"

He stopped for a moment "I'm going to take rose upstairs, tell her she can't use the vial today. I hope that before tomorrow, we will have figured something out."

"Yes sire"she nodded quickly.

"Good" he opened the door just in time to see rose take the last gulp from the bottle

"ROSE!" "YOUR MAJESTY!"

She looked at them "I heard everything"

"and you still took the vial!" Greg shouted

"of course I did, Greg I can't just sit back and watch and watch our son suffer"

"Rose I…" he stopped as suddenly, Rose's eyes glowed pink and her body radiated some kind of powerful aura.

Rose felt power like no other, she walked towards her son and put her hands on his chest, Pumping everything she could into him. Then she started to feel weak and tired, her power surge faded and she fell to the floor."

At once Greg was holding her "stay with me rose. Pearl!, Do something"

The alchemist was frozen as tears fell from her eyes "there is nothing to be done"

Greg turned back to rose "rose, don't worry. You're going to be okay.

The queen smiled at him "take care of steven"

"we will take care of him together"

"Keep him safe"

"Stop it rose, we will do all that and more together."

"I'm sorry, this wasn't what I promised you"

"Don't worry, you will fulfill your promise"

"I love you"

"Rose!, No Rose!, Stay with me rose, stay wi…rose"

•••

The kingdom mourned their queen, the weather seemed to join them as they put their queen to rest. There were tears and pain filled the land. But in thier darkest time did they find light, Steven was alive. There was merriment across the land as all the villages came to the capital to celebrate, they wined and dined, danced and sang, gave and gave. The city of Beachtopia was once again whole because he lived.


	4. Chapter 4

The night was quiet for the first time in a while, the nocturnal animals were great full that the party was finally over, and to express their joy, they cried out to the night giving it a natural and earthly theme.

High up, two creatures hovered. So high that an eagle soaring at a hundred feet wouldn't even notice them.

"Ahh the dolin dragons never ceases to amaze me, as if having the ability to fly very high and good sight wasn't enough, they have the ability to hover perfectly in one position. They truly are works of art" she stroked the creatures head as she said this.

"Yes, works of art" her partner wasn't so collected "I just wish there was a little protection, seats with belts installed would have faired nicely"

She face palmed " just check the eye piece and tell me what is going on down there" her partner shakily brought out the thin cylindrical device and took a look through it, calibrating it from time to time until he was satisfied "so?"

"The party's finally over"

"Not that fool!"

"oh, sorry." He quietly looked around before speaking up "the guards seem to move in a hive formation"

"Any blind spots?"

"No"

She thought for a while "the tunnels"

"Looks sealed, it can only be open from the outside"

" they are heavily defended, all is going according to plan. Lets report back" he didn't budge "cadet?"

"I really feel for her"

"Who?"

"the new princess"

" she's awake?"

"yes, she's looking out of a window on the east tower. She looks nervous"

The woman looked down as though she could see from so high up. "If our sources are correct, she should be introduced to the prince today"

He sighed and placed the eye piece in his belt " she could have had a peaceful life but now that she is royalty… if only she knew what was coming"

"None of them do, but they would, soon."

…

Connie stared anxiously at her shoes, what if it was bad luck?, Servants have been sent to find the prince all had returned with no idea of the Prince's whereabouts. Would the king sense strange vibes if he found out, what if he saw it as a sign, a sign that worked against her.

"ALL HAIL HIS ROYAL HIGNESS, KING GREGORY. LORD AND PROTECTOR OF BEACHTOPIA."

She got up and curtsied as the king took his seat on the throne, fear overtook her insides but she managed to look calm, remembering something her mother said about confidence.

Greg looked around "uh, where's my son?"

Dewey, the only council member present got up "my apologies sire but the prince seem to be absent."

"what so you mean 'absent'?"

"He is not in the palace, it's grounds or in town"

Greg looked around confused "lapis" she curtsied "how did he react when you told him he would be introduced to his wife?"

All eyes were on the head of staff "your majesty, I did not tell him he was going to meet his wife today, I simply told him that he was needed for an important ceremony."

"Then he should be here" Greg mumbled to himself. The throne room was quiet until the answer hit Greg "garnet"

"Sire"

"Which squire did you assign to take the package to the northern village"

"Amethyst sire"

"Well there you have it, I'm sure she'll be with him and that Paddington girl. Looks like we have to postpone the ceremony."

There was mumbling as a few people walked out of the throne room, Connie turned to go when

"Princess" she turned and curtsied "were are you going?"

She took a deep breath and spoke in her most collected voice "Sire, Since the ceremony has been postponed, I would like to go to my quarters in order to give you the privacy you need for the upcoming meetings"

"privacy?" he chuckled "come here" she walked towards him "sit" he gestured at the throne beside Rose's, she sat down holding her breath "you are the future queen of beachtopia, meaning that henceforth, you are to attend every royal meeting and gathering except the ones that I and only I tell you not to. You are to be trained in the way of royalty, lapis will give you your schedule and delegations. Work hard and make me, your parents and the kingdom proud"

She sat up, "yes sire"

…

The window opened, amethyst jumped through and immediately brought out her crossbow while Steven fell through. "why do we have to go through the window?, There's a door for God's sake" the prince groaned as he dusted his backside. "And why in all of Beachtopia did you bring a weapon?"

Amethyst didn't answer immediately, she looked around, her hand on the trigger. She dropped it when she was satisfied. "Amethyst!" she pounced on him and shut his mouth

"shhhh" she hissed but it was too late. She had a whirring and clanking sound, she groaned, grabbed him and ran down the passage. Using her squire training and a few self-taught acrobatics, she was soon hanging against the ceiling while Steven looked down from the top of a shelf, confused. Almost immediately, a humanoid walked in, it was partly metal and partly wood but what Steven noticed most was the rows upon rows of arrows it carried. The rows were connected via metal tubes to it's palms. Steven swallowed and the machine looked up at him, he could swear he saw it smile before it raised it's arm and fired.

It missed but amethyst didn't. The contraption fell, an arrow sticking out of it's head. Amethyst jumped down and looked up at Steven, the young prince was frozen in fear. Amethyst smiled reassuringly "come on let's go give her a piece of our mind"

…

Amethyst burst a door open and immediately got wacked in the face by a by a cushion. "What in the…" she got wacked again. She dodged the third one and saw the culprit position, she dashed and soon she was holding the perpetrator by the scruff of her neck. "why were…peridot?"

The girl stopped squirming when she heard her name, she looked down at her captor and "amethyst?" she tried to talk again but a slap silenced her "what the…" another slap then a grunt as amethyst dropped her and she fell on her behind. "What was that for?" she said as she massaged her cheek

"You tried to kill me Paddington Peridot!"

"What?!, I would never"

Amethyst growled then she took a deep breath and smiled sarcastically "oh, I'm sorry. I thought the machine you created was a deadly one, I didn't know it was meant to give me hugs. Perhaps I misjudged thanks to barrage of arrows it fired at me the last time I came here"

"Oh. That machine was an accident."

"Accident?. Look peridot, you're roasting pork for everyone and you slightly burn it, that's an accident. You're walking down a path and you step on someone's foot, that's an accident. This is as far away from accident as you could possibly go!"

Amethyst looked like she was about to rain down on peridot so Steven ran in to prevent any unwanted harm. "come on you two, no fighting" peridot looked up in shock "ste…steven?" the boy turned to look at her "yes peridot, ugh!" she pounced on him and pulled him into a bear hug.

"Oh my God you're alive, I'm so happy."

"Yes, me too." He pulled away, and with a serious look he asked "peridot, why did you make killer robot?"

The young engineer looked down in embarrassment. "It is an old project, it is meant to give us an upper hand against enemy archers but it didn't work. On the day I heard about your illness, I trashed the entire house in frustrating that I only knew about machines and therefore couldn't directly help you. I tried to carry it but it was too heavy, so I kicked it and 'boom', it came to life"

"Just like that?"

"yes."

"You're lucky your mother didn't come home."

Peeidot face fell"Mother is halfway across the great sea by now, I'm not expecting her for a while."

"Oh. So what have you been doing while the robot paraded the house?"

"Hiding for my life"

"so you haven't been outside?" she shook her head "great, amethyst and I are on our way to deliver a package to the northern village, care to join us?"

"do I?!, Let's go!" she took a step toward the door and amethyst grabbed her "whoa whoa whoa Missy, hold it right there"

Peridot looked up, confused. "What?"

"Go and wash up, you stink"

Peridot was shocked "hey!, how about I lock you in a house with a pest in the form of a homicidal robot and then see how you smell."

Amethyst huffed then she grabbed peridot arm "um, peridot" the girl looked at her "sorry about everything, I thought you were hiding because you didn't like Steven and was only pretending to get something from him."

Peridot shrugged "its okay, I would have thought the same thing if I was in your shoes."

"Precisely except I won't do something like that"

Peridot froze "wait, are you trying to say I might actually do something like that?".

"I don't know. Maybe"

"Arghhh!. I can't believe this, how dare you!"

Steven couldn't help but chuckle, he really missed his friends

…

Greg took a sip from his goblet and sighed. Five hours passed and the meeting was still going on. "how about we take one more topic and call it a day"

The lords and council members affirmed happily making greg smile " so, what will it be?"

Dewey stood up"sire the Messengers we sent to Romando are yet to arrive"

"What!, Oh God"

"I would like to suggest we send a search party to see what the problem is."

Greg massaged his temples and tried to think it through. "Um sire" everyone turned to the new princess "I would advice against that"

"Why?"

"They are just Messengers, right?"

A couch member frowned "that does not mean they are any less of a human"

"what?, No, no, no. That is not what I meant" Connie tried to explain herself. "what I'm trying to say is that since they are Messengers, they wouldn't have anything valuable that thief's would try to take, they are also of no use to kidnappers. The only possible things that could have delayed them are either monsters, or an enemy of the kingdom. An enemy of Beachtopia would derive no gain in harming them, so the person could only use them to send a message to us. If we send a search party, they become a problem to that person, problems that might have to be exterminated."

A Lord nodded "the girl speaks the truth" but the council members wouldn't have it "sire we cannot risk the life's of our men all because of the theory of a child."

Greg sighed as he thought then came to a conclusion. "We will wait until the next moon, if there is still no sign from them, we will send a search party."


End file.
